R E L A T E D

Dashain is the festival of Dasara celebrated in Nepal for 15 days to commemorate the victory of Goddess Durga over mahishasura and worship her in all her manifestations.

The following days are the important ones amongst the celebrations:

1st Day Ghatastapana (Pratipada)

7th Day Fulpati (Saptami)

8th Day Ashtami

9th Day Navami

10th Day Vijaya Dashami (main Dashain Day also known as Dashain ko Tika)

11th Day Ekadasi

15th Day Kojagrat Purnima

Ghatastapana

This marks the beginning of Dashain. It involves the installing of a pot which symbolises Goddess Shakti also called the Kalash. The kalash is filled with holy water and covered with cow dung and sewn with barley seeds and put in a sand block. Then Goddess Durga is invoked into the vessel .This is usually done by the males in the family and it continues for the next seven days.

Fulpati

On this day, jamara to be used by the royal family is bought from Gorkha palace. The royal kalasha along with all the puja items is bought into a huge public gathering and the king observes the ceremony in Tundikhel. A huge display of the army takes place and then the Fulpati is taken to the Hanuman dhoka royal palace(nowadays to the office of the Prime Minister).

Maha Ashtami

This is the day for the worship of Goddess Kali and many buffaloes, goats and other animals are sacrificed and offered to the Goddess. After the sacrifice , the meat is taken home and cooked as prasad .

Maha Navami

On this day, the offical sacrifice of animals take place amidst military gunfire salutes. Also people worship their tools, equipment and vehicles on this day. The famous Taleju Temple gates are opened for the public only once a year on this day and thousands of devotees go and pay respect to the deity.

Vijaya Dashami

The tenth day of the festival is celebrated as Dashian Tika day and on this day women prepare tika by mixing rice, yogurt and vermillion. Elders put the tika and the jamara on the forehead of younger ones as blessings.